In manually actuated circuit breakers or switches of the type shown in Mikulecky U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,878, which is incorporated herein by reference and U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,690 both commonly owned, an operating handle is used to open and close the switch by inserting a hook stick into an opening in the end of the operating handle. The hook stick is approximately five to six feet long and the operator pushes or pulls on the stick to open and close the switch. The operating handle is made of a rigid plastic material and, if pushed or pulled with too much force at the end of the stroke, will break requiring replacement.